6.29.07
DARPA visits VictorTango for the Urban Challenge qualification Site Visit.  Odin completed all four MDF runs flawlessly.  The scheduled test took 2 of the allotted 4 hours.  For a video of the event, click here.

6.28.07
VictorTango hosts advisory board members from AAI Corp, Caterpillar, Cybermotion, SAIC, and National Instruments for a demonstration and discussion of the team’s progress and plans.

6-17-07
VictorTango demonstrates Odin’s driving prowess at a cookout for the newly formed AUVSI Blue Ridge Chapter.

6-8-07
Team VictorTAngo visited Caterpillar in Peoria, IL to give a demonstration of the vehicles to Caterpillar Electronics employees.

4-26-07
DARPA gives Team VictorTango the number 32 to commemorate those that lost their lives from the VT Tragedy.

3-13-2007
Caterpillar donates $100,000 to Victor Tango! View the Caterpillar on-campus photos here.

2-28-2007
Pictures of work being done on Escapes posted.

2-18-2007
The Roanoke Times publishes an article about TORC and their role on the Victor Tango team. Click here to see the article.

News Archive

The Virginia Tech DARPA Urban Challenge team is a group of dedicated students and faculty with a common goal: to develop a vehicle capable of winning the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge. This third event in the DARPA Grand Challenge Series was initiated in May 2006 and challenges competitors with the task of demonstrating the ability of an autonomous vehicle to operate safely in an urban environment.

The Urban Challenge final event will take place on Saturday, November 3, 2007, at an undetermined location in the western United States . The National Qualifying Event (NQE) will take place October 21-31, 2007. Competing teams will build autonomous vehicles capable of competing in a 60-mile urban course safely in less than 6 hours. The goal of the Urban Challenge program is to accelerate progress in the field of autonomous vehicles by demonstrating the safe travel of competing vehicles in a mock urban setting-including moving vehicular traffic. Competing on an urban course provides an ideal test environment for operational safety by bringing autonomous vehicles in close proximity to a complex, dynamic setting.

As the deadline for completion of our vehicle is quickly approaching, we find ourselves diligently preparing for this competition. The tasks required of our multiple sub-groups are being conscientiously attended to and we are starting to really see our work come to fruition. As you can imagine, this is an absolutely amazing time for our team and the university.

We have compiled a collection of the recognition this team has received. Please feel free to download these .zip files and direct any questions to me at akubiak@vt.edu -we are always willing to share information regarding this project! For your convenience, these files include our team brochure, pictures, newspaper articles and video clips related to the Urban Challenge. Thank you in advance for your time and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you,

Alison Kubiak

Virginia Tech Urban Challenge Team

Direct link to our PRESS KIT here